Oil Spill
$2M eyed for attorney general's BP work
Hood seeks $10 million, says payments to state at stake
Clarion Ledger
Pending approval of the Legislature, the attorney general's office could
receive an extra $2 million this fiscal year to pursue damages from the BP
oil spill.
Without the money, Attorney General Jim Hood said he'll hire private
attorneys on a contingency fee who'll put up the money to hire experts, a
practice Republican lawmakers are seeking to end.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120402/NEWS010504/204020335/-2M-eyed-attorney-general-s-BP-work?odyssey=mod|
newswell|text|Home|s
BP argues feds must turn over oil spill documents
Published: Friday, March 30, 2012, 12:47 PM Updated: Friday, March 30,
2012, 12:47 PM
By The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — BP PLC accuses the federal government of improperly
withholding scientific documents that could show it overestimated the
amount of oil that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico from the company's
Macondo well.
http://blog.al.com/wire/2012/03/bp_argues_feds_must_turn_over.html
Lawmakers continue push for Restore Act
Hattiesburg American
WASHINGTON — Congress passed a temporary transportation bill this week that
does not include a provision to steer billions in oil spill fine money to
the Gulf Coast, but lawmakers from the region, including Sen. Mary Landrieu
and Rep. Steve Scalise, plan to continue the push for such legislation.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20120331/NEWS01/203310320/Lawmakers-continue-push-Restore-Act?odyssey=tab|
topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Bentley holds out hope for Restore Act
WALA
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Alabama Governor Robert Bentley isn't giving up on
the Restore Act.
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/alabama/bentley-holds-out-hope-for-restore-act
Website allows a whole new look at the Gulf oil spill (Turner)
Published: Sunday, April 01, 2012, 5:56 AM
By K.A. Turner, Press-Register
The number: $379,921,840.
The reason it's interesting: That's the amount of money the federal
government has obligated, thus far, to Gulf oil spill contracts, according
to usaspending.gov.
http://blog.al.com/press-register-business/2012/04/website_allows_a_whole_new_loo.html
What should state do with oil-spill fine money?
Jeremy Alford
Daily Comet
Capitol Correspondent
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.
BATON ROUGE — An Iberia Parish lawmaker wants Louisiana voters to decide
whether judgements and settlements stemming from the BP oil spill should be
dedicated to coastal enhancements.
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20120331/ARTICLES/120339919?Title=What-should-state-do-with-oil-spill-fine-money-
Rushing to block oil, Dauphin Island opened itself to split
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2012, 9:02 AM Updated: Saturday, March
31, 2012, 12:33 PM
By Ben Raines, Press-Register
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama -- Coastal scientists say that actions taken by
city leaders and property owners here during the BP oil spill may have
unwittingly ensured that the next major hurricane breaks the island in
half, right at the center of a heavily populated section.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/03/rushing_to_block_oil_dauphin_i.html
Asian-American Boat Owners Accuse BP of 'Despicable' Racism
By SABRINA CANFIELD
Courthouse News Service
NEW ORLEANS (CN) - BP "specifically demanded" that the companies overseeing
its Vessels of Opportunity oil spill clean-up program not hire Vietnamese-
and Cambodian-Americans, a class estimated at 4,000 professional fishermen
claims in Federal Court.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/04/02/45227.htm
SUN HERALD | EDITORIAL Mr. Hood, the boss will see you now
Apparently, Attorney General Jim Hood's middle name is Matthew. We could
have sworn it was Hubris.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/03/31/v-print/3853365/sun-herald-editorial-mr-hood-the.html
BP's oil spill cleanup isn't done: An editorial
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2012, 8:15 AM
By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune
State officials expressed their unhappiness last fall when the Coast Guard
and BP decided to stop cleaning up oil from the massive 2010 spill. They
believed that the plan to shift away from cleanup efforts would leave
coastal beaches and wetlands vulnerable to continued oil contamination, and
there is new evidence that they were right.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/03/bps_oil_spill_cleanup_isnt_don.html
State News
Coal plant construction plans allowed
WLBT
For now the construction of a multi-billion dollar coal plant can go on as
scheduled. In a public hearing that lasted less than a minute the
Mississippi Public Service Commission voted two-to-one to issue a temporary
certificate to Mississippi Power Company to continue a project in Kemper
County.
http://www.wlox.com/story/17295902/coal-plant-construction-plans-allowed
Festival focuses on celebrating Gulf Marine Education
WLOX
It was a chance for Coast residents to learn more about the place they call
home.
http://www.wlox.com/story/17306483/festival-focuses-on-celebrating-gulf-marine-education
Hundreds apply for jobs at new company
By Jeremy Pittari
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE — Hundreds of people applied for job on Friday and Saturday with a
company under construction near Picayune's Industrial Park.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x684080583/Hundreds-apply-for-jobs-at-new-company
States forge ahead on energy
Op-Ed
T.Boone Pickens
Clarion Ledger
Gasoline prices are spiking, again. And again the public is concerned.
We've been through this song and dance before. The rhetoric is the same.
Blame it on the Middle East. Blame it on speculators. Blame it on the oil
and gas industry.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120401/OPINION03/204010302/States-forge-ahead-energy?odyssey=mod|
newswell|text|Opinion|s
SUN HERALD FORUM Propane autogas should be part of state's plan
By STUART WEIDIE
Gov. Phil Bryant and oil titan T. Boone Pickens are touting natural gas as
Mississippi's transportation fuel alternative. However, they are
overlooking the world's most viable alternative fuel, propane autogas.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/03/31/v-print/3853358/sun-herald-forum-propane-autogas.html
JOHN STODDER — Study: Fracking doesn't pose groundwater risks
Mississippi Business Journal Blog
In a possible foreshadowing of long-awaited findings by the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at
Austin has found "no direct link to reports of groundwater contamination"
from the controversial natural gas extraction method known as fracking.
http://msbusiness.com/businessblog/2012/03/29/john-stodder-%E2%80%94%C2%A0study-fracking-doesn%E2%80%99t-pose-groundwater-risks/
National News
EPA Backpedals on Fracking Contamination
Texas Water-Pollution Suit Dropped; Third Recent Setback on Drilling for
Agency
Wall Street Journal
By DANIEL GILBERT And RUSSELL GOLD
The Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its claim that an energy
company contaminated drinking water in Texas, the third time in recent
months that the agency has backtracked on high-profile local allegations
linking natural-gas drilling and water pollution.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577313741463447670.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
EPA no longer requires gas driller to give 2 Texas families water;
data-sharing deal reached
By Associated Press,
HOUSTON — The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it is no longer
requiring a gas driller it had accused of contaminating private wells to
provide water to two North Texas families.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/epa-no-longer-requires-gas-driller-to-give-2-texas-families-water-data-sharing-deal-reached/2012/03/30/gIQAPirulS_print.html
Fracking chemicals disclosures set off few alarms
Houston Chronicle
By Matthew Tresaugue and John MacCormack
Updated 11:29 p.m., Sunday, April 1, 2012
CARRIZO SPRINGS — Energy companies have disclosed some of the chemicals
pumped into the ground to extract oil and gas at more than 1,700 locations
across Texas in the first two months since the state began requiring the
site-specific information.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Fracking-chemicals-disclosures-set-off-few-alarms-3450152.php
State officials ask energy firms to disclose 'fracking' sites
The Brown administration is planning a statewide tour to hear residents
complaints about the controversial oil extraction method.
By Michael J. Mishak
Los Angeles Times
April 2, 2012
SACRAMENTO –The Brown administration is scrambling to convince an
increasingly wary public that state regulators are getting a handle on
hydraulic fracturing, a controversial oil extraction method that can pose a
hazard to drinking water.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fracking-20120402,0,4526423.story
Health Impact Fracking Studies Taking Hold, With Challenges
AP
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – While New York regulators have spent four years mulling
the environmental impacts of shale gas development, the potential human
health impacts have been given short shrift, according to health advocates.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/03/31/health-impact-fracking-studies-taking-hold-with-challenges/
House GOP proposes merging EPA, Department of Energy
The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz - 03/30/12 10:25 AM ET
House Republicans on Thursday introduced a bill that would merge the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, a move
supporters say could save $5.3 billion by cutting duplicative functions in
both agencies like legislative affairs, public affairs and human resources.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/219209-house-gop-proposes-merging-epa-department-of-energy
The EPA's (very small) step on carbon emissions
Washington Post
By Editorial Board, Published: March 31
ON TUESDAY, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its first limits
on carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants. By requiring that
facilities produce less than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per
megawatt-hour, the rule essentially bans construction of traditional
coal-fired power plants. That's good: Burning coal releases lots of carbon
dioxide and a range of nasty pollutants that encourage heart attacks and
respiratory illness.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-epas-very-small-step-on-carbon-emissions/2012/03/31/gIQAm6hpnS_print.html
